Compliance
by Rainy Daze Writer
Summary: A one-shot based on the myth "Sometimes the heart can be more powerful than the Code." Challenge courtesy of jayfeather12345. Archclaw knows the Warrior Code, perhaps even better than senior warriors. She knows the Code is made of rules that no cat is exempt from. And yet, she can't control her own feelings – no matter how forbidden they may be.


**Compliance**

* * *

Characters:

Archclaw – brown and gold tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Snowpaw – silver-shaded white she-cat with blue eyes

Asterpetal – lilac tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

* * *

"Snowpaw! Run!" Archclaw yowled, racing down the hill as fast as her paws would carry her towards the red-furred monstrosity looming over her apprentice.

The ShadeClan deputy was a young cat – she had been a warrior for only twelve moons when Narrowstar died, Ospreyfeather became Ospreystar, and she was chosen to be deputy. She still had the boundless energy of an apprentice, though several moons had passed since that day. _So why can't I run faster?_

Her muscles were screaming for her to stop, to collapse, but Archclaw refused to give in to the pain coursing through them. She charged away from the rest of the patrol, leaving them mewing in shock, and swerved around bushes as she ran towards Snowpaw and the fox that was barely a tail-length away from her.

The silver-tinted apprentice was staring up at the fox, frozen in place with her thick white pelt bushed up in terror. Archclaw swallowed hard. _You'll reach her in time. She's not that far away, and she's been an apprentice four moons. She can handle a fox long enough for you to reach her. _Despite her mind's constant stream of encouragement, Archclaw flattened her ears and unsheathed her claws as she tried to move faster. She couldn't help but doubt herself.

She came within a few tail-lengths, spitting and snarling at the fox, but it didn't cast a single glance at her. Its eyes were focused on Snowpaw – and just as Archclaw was about to reach her apprentice, to thrust her out of harm's way, the fox lunged and grabbed Snowpaw by the throat.

The silver she-cat let out a shriek of pain as teeth sank into her neck, and Archclaw was struck dumb. She stared hollowly as the fox bit harder. Then Snowpaw yowled, "Help!" and her mind began to move again. With a gasp, Archclaw launched herself at the fox and pounced onto its back, digging in her claws.

It snarled and shook violently, trying to throw her off, but at the same time its teeth remained firmly lodged in Snowpaw's neck. Archclaw's heart wrenched when her apprentice screamed in agony.

At last – too slow – the rest of the patrol arrived. Swiftsong charged, slamming her head into the fox's side. At her side, Thornpelt curled his lip in a snarl and slashed at the fox's haunches with ferocity. Firethorn bit down on its tail, hanging on even as it lashed angrily. Snowpaw twisted and flipped wildly to score her claws across its muzzle over and over.

Finally, confronted with five cats spitting in fury, the fox dislodged its fangs from Snowpaw's throat and backed away warily. Its yellow eyes were cold and dispassionate as it looked from warrior to warrior. Archclaw took a step forward, pelt bushed out in rage and claws unsheathed. She locked her gaze with the fox's and let out a low growl.

Getting the idea at last, the fox turned tail and fled. Only once she was sure it wasn't returning did Archclaw whirl around to Snowpaw. What she saw took her breath away.

The fur at Snowpaw's throat was torn out, leaving the pale skin bare – what little of it was left. Most of the skin on her throat was punctured with huge gashes which were already swollen, and in most areas the skin was just ripped away – a ghastly sight, and one of the most violent injuries Archclaw had ever seen. Snowpaw coughed as blood bubbled at her lips, her tongue pale and poking out from between her teeth.

Rushing to her side, Archclaw pressed her muzzle against the top of her apprentice's head. "Snowpaw," she breathed softly.

Snowpaw's eyes were round as an owl's and filled with terror. She whimpered, and her jaw moved as if she were trying to speak but couldn't. "Don't try to speak," Archclaw murmured as soothingly as she could, licking the young cat's ear. "Shh. It's okay, shh." Horror twinged within as Snowpaw's legs spasmed in the twitching motion of death. Her paws flailed feebly, but all Archclaw could do was lick her ear tenderly in the hopes that it would calm down the young cat.

At last, she could see from the glassy blue gaze that Snowpaw's spirit had passed to StarClan. Standing, keeping her head down, Archclaw turned to the rest of her patrol. "Let's go home," she meowed quietly. "We need to tell Ospreystar."

* * *

"We are saddened to announce the death of Asterpetal's apprentice, Chestnutpaw," Kestralstar announced from the Callstone. Her eyes were dark as she looked over the crowd; Archclaw's pelt prickled uneasily when she realized that the LightningClan leader's anger was directed at the ShadeClan warriors – more so than usual. Looking to the LightningClan deputy, Asterpetal, she wondered if the she-cat would explain anything. Instead, she saw that her gaze was filled with hostility as well.

The leaders spoke quietly atop the Callstone for a moment before Icestar of StreamClan called out to the Clans, "Since the weather is still warm, we'll be staying out for a while to mingle. Please enjoy yourselves." So saying, she and the other leaders leaped down from the Callstone and entered the crowd of warriors.

Archclaw turned to Asterpetal only to find that the LightningClan she-cat was already standing. "Wait a second," she called. "I was wondering – what happened to Chestnutpaw?"

Asterpetal turned, her lip curled in a half-snarl. "Why would a ShadeClan warrior care about one of our apprentices?" Her voice was dripping with enough bitter hatred to leave Archclaw taken aback. As she struggled for words, Asterpetal turned away again.

"Wait," Archclaw meowed quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just – I lost my apprentice two moons ago, and I was just…" she trailed off uncertainly. _How am I supposed to comfort a cat from another Clan? We're sworn enemies._ "I'm sorry for your loss."

Asterpetal stopped, though she didn't turn around. "How did your apprentice die?"

"Fox attack," Archclaw mewed softly. "I wasn't fast enough to stop it. Her name was Snowpaw." She winced, not wanting to share the story of her apprentice with this enemy cat. Her curiosity got the best of her, however.

"His was Chestnutpaw, but Kestralstar gave him the name Chestnutfall when he died." Asterpetal's voice was uncertain. "I don't know if I should tell you how he died, if you don't already know."

"What do you mean, if I don't already know? How would I know?"

"I figured that Sharpfang would have told everyone," Asterpetal meowed bitterly. As Archclaw wondered what Sharpfang had to do with anything, the enemy deputy added, "I had him pinned for the sort who would brag about his great victories against defenseless apprentices who accidentally crossed the border."

Her breath caught in her throat. "You can't mean –" But the look on Asterpetal's face said more than anything words could. Only now did Archclaw realize that the deputy was much more scarred now than she had been at the previous Gathering. "Did… were you…?" She couldn't say it.

"I defended my apprentice." Asterpetal hesitated. "_Tried_ to defend my apprentice."

"Was Sharpfang the only one?"

"No. Nettlehawk and Pepperpaw were with him."

Archclaw frowned. _That patrol._ It had been several days since then, but she remembered how she'd hesitated to put Nettlehawk and Pepperpaw on a border patrol with Sharpfang – all three cats were known to be fierce and aggressive, a dangerous trio when together. To try and lessen the chance of their getting into a fight, she had put Badgerstep on patrol with them. Surely he wouldn't allow them to do such a thing. "What about Badgerstep?"

Immediately Asterpetal's eyes narrowed again mistrustfully. "How did you know he was there?"

"I chose the patrol," Archclaw replied. "I'm a deputy too, remember."

"Oh." Asterpetal's gaze flickered with guilt. "I'm sorry. Yes, Badgerstep was there. They told him to stay out of it, and I don't think he knew what their intentions were. They started to attack us, and he looked pretty helpless."

Archclaw's ears lay back. "He should have come to camp and told us what they were doing." She resolved to punish Badgerstep for his passive action when she returned to camp – not to mention telling Ospreystar about Sharpfang's unacceptable behavior. To kill an apprentice so soon after one of theirs had died was unthinkable.

The LightningClan deputy blinked, looking away. "Perhaps… but he saved my life, in the end. His Clanmates left at some point, I suppose, but he went straight to our camp and fetched Kestralstar. By that point, Chestnutfall had already passed, but his quick action may have been what saved me." Her eyes were hollow. "I never really thanked him for that."

Archclaw hesitated a moment before meowing, "I'll let Ospreystar know what they did. I can't guarantee that they'll be punished as harshly as they deserve, but they will not get away with this." Her pelt prickled at the thought of taking a LightningClan warrior at her word – there wasn't any proof, after all, and it was disloyal to believe an enemy over a Clanmate. Yet if Asterpetal was telling the truth, it had to be addressed immediately.

Asterpetal's gaze was downcast as she murmured something that might have been an agreement, and Archclaw hated the pity that made her shuffle closer and meow, "Don't worry. I'll find a way to fix this."

"Thank you," Asterpetal mewed softly. "I appreciate it."

* * *

_ What am I thinking?_

Archclaw was running across the moors, paws tearing up ground as she raced through the long, yellow grass.

_I can't get it out of my head!_

She couldn't believe it. It had only been a day since the Gathering, and Archclaw was waiting to get a moment alone with Badgerstep so that she could ask him about Asterpetal's story. She didn't dare go to Ospreystar without any proof – and yet, for some reason, her paws were tingling and she was drawn towards her friend's den. It took great force of will not to run inside and blab everything she'd been told.

It was a constant train of thought in her mind – was Asterpetal lying? She didn't think so, but it was _disloyal_ to assume that an enemy warrior was telling the truth just based on a gun feeling. But what if she was telling the truth? Archclaw didn't want to leave the punishment up to Ospreystar – she wanted to tear Sharpfang and Nettlehawk apart for their behavior, and yet they had weakened the enemy Clan. Shouldn't they be praised for it? Not for the killing, but for upholding part of the warrior code.

Archclaw ran faster, trying to banish the disloyal thoughts from her head. Asterpetal said she had crossed the border after her apprentice. That made her an invader, and so there was surely no way to trust her. And yet Archclaw wanted to trust her.

She was nearing the border. To her alarm, she realized that there was a cat there – none other than Asterpetal.

The LightningClan deputy looked up sharply as Archclaw ran towards her, but her eyes grew curiously friendly when she recognized her.

"Hello," she mewed from her side of the border.

Grudgingly, Archclaw replied, "Good afternoon."

"Have you spoken to anyone yet?" Asterpetal meowed.

"Not yet. I want to speak to Badgerstep first, get his side of the story." _Don't be friendly. She's an enemy warrior,_ Archclaw reminded herself gruffly.

"Mm. That makes sense," Asterpetal replied agreeably. She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky. "Sorry for being so close to the border. I've come here since I was an apprentice just to clear my head, and if there was ever a time it needed to be cleared…" She trailed off, chuckling, and to Archclaw's alarm she found herself laughing as well. _What am I doing? She's an enemy!_

"No problem," she meowed without thinking. "I like to run when I need to think." _Stop sharing things about yourself! What if she uses them against you?_

"Maybe you're secretly a BreezeClan warrior," Asterpetal purred teasingly, and Archclaw purred at the joke – only to reprimand herself a moment later; jokes could be used to disarm her, sway her attention. She had to keep razor-sharp focus or the LightningClan she-cat might tease secrets out of her.

"And you? So full of thought – you'd make a decent ShadeClan warrior," Archclaw pointed out, flicking her ear.

Laughter from Asterpetal. "Maybe you're right. I've seen the upsides and downsides to your Clan, after all – doesn't that mean I know all your secrets?"

"You've found us out – we're a Clan like any other, with good and bad cats," Archclaw meowed, twitching her whiskers. "It's our greatest secret." She felt terrible for joking with the enemy, but she hadn't had a decent conversation like this in _moons_, it seemed.

Was it disloyal to befriend an enemy warrior? Would she be expected to find out LightningClan secrets every time they spoke? Archclaw hoped not – though it would be a great show of loyalty to the Clan, she didn't like the thought of picking through everything Asterpetal said to find a hidden message. And she hoped the lilac tortoiseshell wouldn't do it to her, either.

_What if we have to fight? Would that mean we're not friends? What do the other warriors do when they have to fight their friends? Do they just avoid them in battle? We're both deputies, we're expected to fight each other a lot. And I've fought her before. Does that mean we can't be friends?_ Her mind buzzed with questions.

Asterpetal sighed. "Well, I should get back to camp. It's almost time to assign the evening patrols." She got to her paws and took a few steps deeper into LightningClan territory. "Good luck talking to Badgerstep. Have a good evening!" She waved her tail in farewell, and Archclaw barely managed to get out a "goodbye" before the enemy deputy had vanished over the hill.

Huffing a sigh, Archclaw turned to head back to the ShadeClan camp – she, too, had patrols to set._ Great StarClan, it's hard to make friends in cats outside the Clan! I just wonder if this is worth the hassle._

* * *

Oh goodness. I've finally got another story out. This one was hard to write because I tried to make it as cheesy as possible, and I'm _really_ bad at cheesy. However, you may have noticed something: this is a toned-down romance story. Instead of the classic cat-falls-in-love-with-enemy-cat story that the Hunters love so much they overuse it, I went with a less-than-classic cat-becomes-friends-with-enemy-cat story with the same general problems and worries.

I like Archclaw, and I'm afraid I didn't let her personality shine through here. She's something of a pedant, adhering _extremely_ closely to the Warrior Code. Enough so that she has never had a friendship with an enemy warrior for fear of breaking the warrior code. Forming a common bond with Asterpetal, she begins to create a friendship. This, of course, brings a whole new load of stresses onto poor Archclaw as she worries that she'll be considered disloyal.

So. Here is a romance story, minus the romance, plus the friendship. I certainly hope it applies to the challenge!


End file.
